Yo Ho Ho Halloween

After some henpecking (not to mention bellyaching at the suboptimal ordering of our blog posts), I have consented to update the blog to address the most recent celebrations on the Eve of All Saint's Day. Leading up to the festivities, we carved a mighty Jack-'O-Lantern, with Rebekah serving as the primary lobotomist/goop-scooper, Nicolo as the chief sculptor, and Benjamin acting as overseer. Our creation turned out rather ghoulish compared to our relatively weak attempts in prior years. Here are a few pictures of Jack:

Following these festivities, we repaired to our ward's celebration, with Benjamin masquerading as a buccaneer, and Rebekah as a corsair. Grandma happened to be in town on her way to the Great State of Texas, so she joined us, complete in her very own peculiar habit. Here are a few pictures of the night:

As a final send-off, the kids went out for a night of door-to-door proselyting as the sugar missionaries. To reduce the chance of mishap, we traveled in a large herd, with several of the neighborhood children and their parents in tow. Here is one of many failed attempts to photograph all of the children in one sitting:

Benjamin's Bodacious Birthday Bash!

Benjamin celebrated his fourth birthday last Saturday, with a smattering of local friends. Although Benjamin initially craved a vampire birthday party, Miriam considered that option to be unpalatable, not to mention patently offensive to the pro-vampire party. As such, Miriam commenced on a coercion campaign to convince him that vampires were no longer as blood-thirsty as they might appear, and therefore would not be nearly as cool as they might otherwise seem.

Eventually her efforts bore fruit, as she convinced him to settle for a an Elmo birthday party instead. Leading up to the big event, Benjamin repeatedly expressed his desire that his next birthday party be a vampire-themed party, and even now he continues to remind us that next time he will not be swayed by his mother's arguments against the merits of vampires.

Despite the major let-down of substituting Elmo for his superior vampires, Benjamin still enjoyed the event reasonably well, as evidenced by the pictures below:

Latest Events

Miriam's parents arrived home in San Diego from their trip to New York on Thursday, and were kind enough to drive up yesterday, as Bianca was blessed in sacrament meeting today. Here are some nice pictures of the event.

Benjamin started preschool last month, and thus far has defied all expectations through his upstanding behavior as a model student. Here are some pictures of his first day of school.

Name that kid!

We here at the Pedantic Pinolis have noticed a slight resemblance amongst our three children. To test your ability to discern between them, we've posted baby pictures of all three of them below. See if you can tell them apart! (see answer at bottom)

A)

B) C)

A) = Benjamin

B) = Rebekah

C) = Bianca

Rebekah's first day of second grade

Rebekah reluctantly, but alertly, returned to school on Monday to begin the second grade. Here are a few pictures of the event:

Bianca Elizabeth Pinoli

The Pinoli family welcomed the newest pedant to their family on Friday morning at 12:36am. Bianca weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19.75 inches long. As she delayed her exit from the womb by a mere 7 days, Bianca is expected to be less stubborn than Benjamin (14 days late), and more stubborn than Rebekah (a mere 3 days late). As an avowed 4th trimester specialist, Miriam was not surprised at the timing, although even she will admit that the 4th trimester is by far the most difficult, noting, "That morning sickness from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters is nothing compared to the fun of the 4th trimester." We're glad she is finally here, and we are happy to announce that everyone is doing very well.

A big thank you to Grandma Gunter for all her help before, during, and after the birth. Here are a few more photos, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Gunter:

Benjamin's Bathroom Kerfuffle

Earlier this week, Miriam took the kids with her to the gym. Towards the end of their stay, they were in the bathroom for some routine maintenance. Meanwhile the hero of our story, Benjamin (see picture taken today), remained as vigilant as ever, carefully inspecting the premises for any signs of malfeasance. While Miriam was attending to Rebekah, Benjamin noted an elderly woman attempting to exit the bathroom. While she was in the midst of escaping, Benjamin yelled a supreme accusation,: "HEY, she didn't wash her hands!!!"

Anyone who knows Ben knows that he's not a particularly quiet child. In fact, he's generally much louder than occasion warrants. In this case, his accusation was probably deserving of a very low whisper. However, he yelled this taunt at the top of his lungs. Now, you would expect that most elderly ladies, upon hearing such a bold attack, would probably feign deafness and continue to shuffle on their way. However, as a further indictment against her innocence in this matter, our villain immediately ascertained that Benjamin's outburst was directed at her, and proclaimed her innocence by quickly retorting, "YesIdid." [spaces removed to indicate the hastiness of her response, casting further doubt on her assertion]. Anyone who knows Benjamin knows that he enjoys a good argument (a trait inherited, no doubt, from his excellent mother), and not willing to let such an important matter drop, Benjamin immediately refuted her assertion, by refusing to lower his voice and shouting in response, "Mommy, no she DIDN'T!"

Fortunately, by this time, our villain realized that she was not to win this war of wits and words against such a determined (and clearly superior) opponent, and hastily beat a retreat from the scene of the crime.

Let this be a lesson to all of you to not neglect your personal hygeine in public places, even if the only witnesses appear to lack the necessary qualifications to ascertain the difference between salubrious and insalubrious activities.